Zaya Kuykendall

Zaya Kuykendall is a licensed mental health counselor who helps people find balance when life feels overwhelming. She invites clients to pause, reassess priorities, and reconnect with what matters. Her aim is to help people regulate emotions, clarify goals, and rebuild a steady sense of self. Zaya takes a collaborative approach in sessions. She encourages openness and honest conversation while sharing observations and practical feedback. Together with each client she identifies roadblocks and develops steps to move forward. Her style blends several evidence-informed methods. Gestalt ideas are used to increase self-awareness and present-moment noticing. Motivational interviewing helps people find their own reasons for change. Solution-focused techniques steer sessions toward concrete next steps and small wins. Zaya has worked in the helping professions for more than 16 years, and she has supported people through issues such as trauma and abuse, addictions, relationship strain, grief, parenting challenges, anxiety, depression, and career questions. She also has experience related to domestic violence, child development, women’s issues, and substance concerns. Sessions emphasize identifying feelings, building strengths, and creating a clear plan of care. Zaya frames therapy as treating mental wounds - recognizing problems, planning treatment, and working toward healing. She aims to help people move past stuck patterns and toward more calm and stability.

How evidence-based techniques translate to online care

Gestalt-informed work focuses on increasing present-moment awareness and noticing patterns that arise in daily life. Online sessions can use this approach to help a person name feelings, notice physical reactions, and practice small changes between meetings to build self-awareness and agency.

Motivational interviewing centers on helping a person find their own reasons to change. In a few focused conversations the therapist listens for what matters most to the client, highlights strengths, and helps turn those motivations into practical next steps.

Solution-focused work looks for concrete, short-term goals and small experiments that produce visible progress. This approach aims to break big problems into manageable actions that can be tried between sessions and adjusted over time.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the therapeutic process. The therapist will work together with each person to identify what fits their goals and preferences, adjusting methods as progress unfolds and needs shift.

Confirm which remote session formats are offered before booking, as the biography does not list specific options. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives, reduce commute time, allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight, and remove the need to be on camera for every conversation. These practical benefits help many people maintain consistency and apply what they learn in everyday settings.